Friday, August 16, 2019
Pin Hole Camera
Pin hole camera was invented by a Muslim scientist ibn-al-haitham. An Egyptian polymath (born in Iraq) whose research in geometry and optics was influential into the 17th century; established experiments as the norm of proof in physics (died in 1040). Another inventor is the tenth century optician and physicist Abu Ali al-Hassan ibn al-Hassan ibn al-Haytham, simply known as al-Haytham, who invented the pinhole camera and discovered how the eye works. The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realize that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haytham. He invented the first pinhole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He was also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one. Pinhole cameras are one of the earliest styles of camera ever created. So what is a pinhole camera? It is essentially a small-enclosed box with a tiny hole placed on one of the sides. When light is allowed to entire through the tiny hole, an image of the object directly outside the hole is projected onto the opposite side of the box. We will explore pinhole camera history a little deeper so you learn more about how they first came into being. Many scientists and others observed and wrote about the phenomenon from the ancient Chinese to the Greeks. But it wasn't until the 11th century that someone actually wrote about the principals of the pinhole camera and created the camera obscura to study it. Ibn al-Haytham wrote his â€Å"Book of Optics†in 1021, and created his own pinhole camera, then later the camera obscura. Al-Haytham discovered he could sharpen his reflected, inverted image by shrinking the pinhole or aperture. Essentially, a pinhole camera is a light-tight box, usually rounded like an oatmeal box, with a pinhole in one side. The image outside the camera is projected through the pinhole where it is reversed and shown upside down on the rear of the box. With no film yet available to record the image, al-Haytham constructed the camera obscura, which is a room-sized pinhole camera where the observer can get inside the apparatus and observe the image. For hundreds of years, people used the camera obscura/pinhole camera to draw or paint the image projected. They used people, animals and landscapes as their models. While these images were not exact, they were an important step on the way to photography, because the pinhole camera served as a model for the first cameras. Discarded as quaint for many years, pinhole cameras first made a comeback with artists in the 1960s. Since then, they have become the focus of hobbyists, Cub Scout packs and other educational venues. Since all it takes to build one is an oatmeal box and some light-sensitive paper or film, the pinhole camera can teach children about physics, light and photography with a little bit of the old â€Å"gosh, wow†effect. Using the pinhole technique is one of the most authentic ways to record photographic images. The technique is based on the principle of the camera obscura which is centuries old. Basically it's nothing more then a lightproof box with, in the middle of one side, a tiny little hole instead of a lens. The light works its way through the pinhole right into the enclosed room and that is how at the opposite side of the pinhole an image appears which is upside down. We can preserve the image by putting material which is sensitive to light at the side where the image shows up and develop it after exposure. Al hazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), a great authority on optics in the Middle Ages who lived around 1000AD, invented the first pinhole camera, (also called the Camera Obscura} and was able to explain why the images were upside down. The first casual reference to the optic laws that made pinhole cameras possible, as observed and noted by Aristotle around 330 BC, who questioned why the sun could make a circular image when it shined through a square hole. http://www. muslimheritage. com/topics/default. cfm? articleID=382 Made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as to anatomy, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, ophthalmology, philosophy, physics, psychology, visual perception, and to science in general with his introduction of the scientific method. He is sometimes called al-Basri  after his birthplace in the city of Basra in Iraq(Mesopotamia), then ruled by the Buyid dynasty of Persia. 3] Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of optics for his influential The Book of Optics, which correctly explained and proved the modern intromission theory of visual perception, and for his experiments on optics, including experiments on lenses, mirrors, refraction, reflection, and the dispersion of light into its constituent colors. [4] He studied binocular vision and the moon illusion, speculated on the finite speed, rectilinear propagation and electromagnetic aspects of light,[5] and argued that rays of light are streams of energy particles[6] travelling in straight lines. [7] Ibn al-Haytham described the pinhole camera and invented the camera obscura (a precursor to the modern camera),[14]discovered Fermat's principle of least time and the law of inertia (known as Newton's first law of motion),[15] discovered the concept of momentum (part of Newton's second law of motion),[16] described the attraction between masses and was aware of the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity at a distance,[17] discovered that the heavenly bodies were accountable to the laws of physics, presented the earliest critique and reform of the Ptolemaic model, first stated Wilson's theorem in number theory, pioneered analytic geometry, formulated and solved Alhazen's problem geometrically, developed and proved the earliest general formula for infinitesimal and integral calculus using mathematical induction,[18]and in his optical research laid the foundations for the later development of telescopic astronomy,[19] as well as for themicroscope and the use of optical aids in Renaiss ance art.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay
After the publication of The Scarlet Letter in the year 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne was recognized as one of the most significant writer in the United States. He has the ability to write like a â€Å"romancer†able to probe the inner mysteries and also as a realist who can describe to the reader the American character and experience (Gollin, par. 1). This means that in the early to the middle-part of the 19th century Hawthorne as writer can be depended upon as a guide, able to show how America was shaped by the forces of religion, migration, and other forces unique to the New World. Hawthorne is not a religious writer but the reader can get more from his work when it comes to the study of religion and religious men than by reading a religious treatise. The following will examine the man and the writer as he became instrumental in how the world came to view and understand nation building the American way. Biography            He was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He came from a family of Puritans. His father was a sea captain who died when he was four years old and so his mother brought him up together with his two sisters. For a few years he lived in Raymond, Maine but he was forced to go back to Salem so that he can prepare for college. It was at this time that he knew he was going to be a writer but at the same time realized that it would be difficult to earn a living writing full time (Golin, par. 2). He would always complain about the fact that he was forever forced to spend time and energy to make money to buy bread rather than to devote a great deal of his time doing the thing that he really loved. However, circumstances prevented him from doing so, especially when he decided to marry and raise a family.            But when he had the means and the opportunity to write, Hawthorne began to show his brilliance as a man of letters. Even his early works like Young Goodman Brown and Twice-told Tales gained approval from critics (Golin, par. 3). Nonetheless, Hawthorne still could not find a way to make writing novels a full-time job. He was forced to gain political appointments so he can have a decent source of income from working in places like the Customs House. Yet since he was a political appointee he was at the mercy of those who are in power. In 1849 he was dismissed and he fought to be reinstated. (Golin, par. 7). He was rejected once more but this failure became a stepping stone for him because it was also during this time that he completed The Scarlet Letter, a novel that would catapult him to fame.            It was The Scarlet Letter that made him famous as a writer who chose to express himself in the genre of romance. He was a unique writer in the sense that he spoke against the excesses of the Puritan tradition (Idol & Jones, p. 471). But what made his works so penetrating and so influential was the fact that he was an insider. He was no ordinary journalist who merely investigated the character flaws of the Puritans, he was one of them, the descendant of one of the most feared and respected Puritan. Moreover, he lived in Salem, the infamous location of the Salem witch trials.            He would later learn about the intimate details of the paranoia that swept the region and he would also come to know his ancestors who ruled the area with an iron fist. His embarrassment to be associated with them and the horrors that he discovered forever influenced his writing style and the type of subject matter that he would like to deal with in his future writings. His inspiration for doing so was described clearly in one of his autobiographical works and there he revealed his desire to remove the stain that embellished the Hawthorne name and he wrote: He was a soldier, legislator, judge †¦ he had all the Puritanic traits both good and evil. He was likewise a bitter persecutor, as witness the Quakers, who have remembered him in their histories †¦ His son, too, inherited the persecuting spirit,and made himself so conspicuous in the martyrdom of the witches, that their blood may fairly be said to have left a stain upon him (Woodberry, p. 124). By writing about the Puritans and the good as well as the bad things they did provided a way out for Hawthorne, a type of healing for the soul and the emotions. It can be argued that he was not very proud of his heritage but by writing about it he can have the ability to rectify some of the damages created by his ancestors. His ancestors thought that everything they did was righteous, but Hawthorne, writing generations later would like to set the record straight that although the Puritans help build a New World their religious views can sometimes do more harm than good. The Scarlet Letter            Everything that he knew and everything that he felt he poured out in the writing of The Scarlet Letter. This is perhaps the reason why this novel is considered a masterpiece. In the second chapter of the tale Hawthorne was able to capture the imagination of the readers when he brought them to a place where severe punishment was given to those who disobeyed the law no matter how trivial it may sound in the hearing of modern men. Hawthorne said that a lazy servant, a disobedient child, a person with different religious views, and even an â€Å"Indian†who may have behaved not in accordance to the customs of the land can receive punishment that should have been reserved only for criminals and not those who simply wanted to exercise their God-given freedom to live and pursue happiness.            Hawthorne then explained why the people living in that particular village acted so harshly and he wrote: â€Å"Meagre, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders, at the scaffold. On the other hand, a penalty which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punishment of death itself†(Hawthorne, Chap. 2). In the opening scene a woman named Hester Prynne emerged from prison clutching her baby in her arms and with a scarlet letter A embroidered on her bosom, symbol of ignominy according to the norms and values of old Massachusetts.            The readers felt the harshness of the sentence but pity turned to anger just as quickly when they discovered that a woman like Hester Prynee could not commit the sin of adultery without a partner. Aside from that the emergence of Hester’s husband – who apparently abandoned her – added another reason as to the need for clemency. But there is more. The adulterous partner was a respected clergyman who was so full of hypocrisy that he even joined with the inquisitors to force out from Hester the name of the man who committed adultery with her.            When Hester did not answer the clergyman as well as those who condemned her to a life of shame and misery the story reached another level of complexity. The woman considered to be the most sinful in the village has transcended her accusers by becoming more righteous than them because she chose to love her enemies. Hester’s actions mirrored the one felt by Hawthorne. He was not anti-religious or anti-God. One can even argue that Hawthorne believed in God and the Bible but he simply could not accept why men of shallow thinking was given the power and the influence to teach the Word of God without learning first compassion and wisdom. Instead of learning the intricacies of the law and the knowledge on how to dispense of punishment in the most cruel and inhumane manner, these ministers should have learned wisdom and love first. By doing so they could have been better servants of God.            It is not hard to see Hawthorne’s allusion to another famous Bible story when an adulterous woman was brought to Jesus to be judged. The woman was brought to Jesus simply because the Nazarene had earn the reputation for being merciful to the point that the religious leaders of his day interpreted his actions as heresy and a blatant demonstration of unfaithfulness to the Jewish religion and to their traditions. By bringing the woman who was caught in adultery, they sought to trap Jesus and to force him to act in accordance to the Law and if he refused then he will be condemned like the woman in front of her.            At this point one can appreciate the complexity of Hawthorne’s writing. He was not simply giving an indictment against the Puritans, he was also trying to show them how it should have been done, not using the author’s righteousness but using the same Bible against them. The Pharisees who was trying to trap Jesus was the ancient version of the Puritans who could not see the big picture, they can only saw the legal aspect, not the person in front of them. And so going back to the Bible story and Jesus this is what the religious leaders said to him: They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, â€Å"Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? (John 8:3-5, NIV) Once again the woman was alone standing in the crowd of men. Where was the man who committed adultery with her? Where was the man who committed the act of adultery with Hester? The religious leaders did not wish to punish the woman because they sincerely believed that she should be punished but they went to great lengths to humiliate her simply because they wanted to uphold an ancient tradition, to preserve a way of life. Furthermore, there is a deeper lesson that the author wanted everyone to know: the community must abide by the rules and regulations because those who will not participate or those who will not consent are considered to be as guilty as the sinner. But Jesus was not afraid of the religious leaders, their accusations, and their condemnation. Jesus instead allowed them to see the big picture that all of them are guilty of secret sins. It may be big or small but if the community focused on punishment rather than in building each other up then they will simply destroy the way of life that they so cherish. They can stone the woman but the one who will cast the first stone must be blameless because the moment he would hurl the first stone his neighbor will turn on him for he too deserved to be punished. Conclusion            The brilliance of Hawthorne can be seen in so many levels. He was a gifted writer able to describe and analyze the way the Puritans had shaped the New World. But instead of simply criticizing them for their legalistic ways he also offered a way out for them by creating indirect references to the Word of God and when he used it as a basis for his writings he was not only able to rectify the misdeeds of the past, he was also able to show there is a better way to build a new nation. Works Cited Gollin, Rita. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.†In The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 5th Accessed 21 July 2010 from http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/ heath/4e/students/author_pages/early_nineteenth/hawthorne_na.html Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.†Accessed 21 July 2010 from http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/scarletletter/ Holy Bible. â€Å"The Gospel of John.†The New International Version. Accessed 22 July 2010            from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%208&version=NIV Idol, John & Buford Jones. Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Contemporary Reviews. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Woodberry, George. Nathaniel Hawthorne. SC: BiblioBazaar, 2008.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Ritz-Carlton Does Not Sell Hotel Rooms
The Ritz Carlton runs in a way that makes every single detail about the consumer and the consumer’s needs, wants, and expectations. Every decision that they make they make with the consumer in mind. They essentially are selling unsurpassed service to their patrons. The Ritz Carlton is very well-known for providing consistent service to its patrons in each of its locations throughout the world. They provide guests with high quality customer service, utilizing their Gold Standards for customer service, which include its credo, motto, employee promise, three steps of service, and the twelve service values. The three steps of service are fairly basic, however many companies overlook them, losing that opportunity to create a long lasting relationship with the guest. The first is to deliver a warm and sincere greeting and to use the guest's name; the second is to anticipate and fulfill the needs of each guest; and the third is to give a warm good-bye, again using the guest's name. The Ritz Carlton believes that guest recognition is a top priority. If employees recognize the guest, then they can give personalized service, have fast access to knowledge, and interactions that are largely hassle free. These Gold Standards continue to lead the company to outperform its competition and increase its customer loyalty. They also have programs designed to meet specific customer needs that include their Service Quality Indicators (SQIs). The Ritz Carlton continually improves its processes and programs in order to give its guests the exceptional service that they have come to be well known for giving in the hotel industry. In essence, they are selling service to consumers. The Ritz Carlton has applied for and won the Baldridge Award in 1992 and 1999, which confirmed that quality is not a short term approach to doing business. The Ritz Carlton works hard to achieve the highest customer and employee satisfaction in the industry. They believe it is critical to continually improve day after day. As a consumer, I would be willing to pay for a stay at the Ritz Carlton. I believe that the methods that they use are fantastic. They treat everyone, including their employees, with respect. That is something that many companies fail to even consider when they are building their business. There are many people who choose products and services from companies by looking at factors such as how they treat their employees, where their products are made, etc. rather than looking only at the price tag and looking for a place or item that is â€Å"cheap†. As a consumer, I would rather patronize a place that was more expensive and treated its employees like gold, than patronize a place that was cheap and treated its employees poorly. I believe that the Ritz Carlton offers an excellent service to their guests and I’m fairly certain that the majority of consumers would be willing to pay for it. However, the price of a hotel room at the Ritz Carlton is on the pricier side so I’m sure that there are plenty of people that would love to take advantage of staying there but would be unable to do so since they could not afford it. Do you think it’s possible for Ritz Carlton to create â€Å"ladies and gentlemen†in just 7 days? It most likely is possible for Ritz Carlton to do so because their employee selection process is highly refined and they are able to higher excellent candidates who understand this concept of â€Å"ladies and gentlemen†. The Ritz Carlton looks for individuals who understand their culture and will engage with other employees, managers and guests. They look for individuals who exhibit certain personality traits and hiring managers seek those individuals when they recruit and interview candidates. In order to ensure that interviewees are sincere and positive people, the hiring managers use two-part questions that will eliminate interviewees who are insincere. According to the article, Inside the Ritz Carlton’s Revolutionary Service, a prospective employee may be asked, â€Å"Are you a habitual smiler? †. If the candidate responds with a â€Å"yes†, then the hiring manager will proceed to ask, â€Å"Why do you smile? †. It is clear to see that the Ritz Carlton selects its employees very carefully in order to find employees that will understand the culture and be able to learn quickly how to be a lady or a gentleman. By looking for people that have the necessary talent to do the job, they feel they can teach the other skills necessary to get them to lady or gentleman status. The Ritz Carlton has a very slow orientation process that they feel can best prepare the new employee with the mission of the company. They feel that when an individual starts a new job, it is a significant emotional experience. During this time, that individual will be attentive and receptive to emotional changes. The Ritz Carlton uses this time to focus on their values and to instill those values into that employee. The employee than goes though their week of orientation and afterwards, they are expected to have adapted the company culture. It seems to me that between their vigorous selection process and the week of orientation, many of these individuals would be able to adapt to their culture as â€Å"a lady or gentlemen†. Also, it is important to point out that the company is well known for treating their employees very well. I would believe that their employees know this and would want to treat the company well in return. The employees must have a high level of employee morale. They have every reason to want to continue on as a â€Å"lady or a gentlemen†as their time continues on with the company. They will also have the chance for promotions in the future. The Ritz Carlton sets employees up for success starting by selecting the right employees for the right position within the company. They are then able to mold these individuals into the employees that they want them to be. They also treat them very well and give them room for growth. I believe that doing this ensures that these individuals will become â€Å"ladies and gentlemen†within the 7 days.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Personal&Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Personal&Professional Development - Essay Example I should not wait for a prompt to do action. I should be able to initiate it especially if I want my team to do the same. Creating an action plan for both myself and for my team will clearly guide everyone of the expected outcomes and there is no excuse to just wait for the others and waste time. As a manager, I should be aware not only of my own learning style but that of my team members’ so we can figure out a way to work together better. Learning Style (Honey & Mumford 1986) Reflective Practice (Schon 1983) Stages of Reflection (Moon 1999) Interpersonal Interaction Managing Conflicts I come from a very peace-loving family. We get to resolve our personal issues quickly. However, stepping into the real world entails knowing how to adapt to various personalities and being able to manage the conflicts that may inevitably crop up. I am inconsistent in my competence in handling conflicts, and that depends on the gravity of the issue and the strength of the personalities and the p ositions of the people involved. A manager needs know how to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with diverse people and groups. He possesses high emotional intelligence, maturity and understanding of people coming from various backgrounds and temperaments. To quote Buckingham & Coffman (1999) again, â€Å"The key to excellent performance, of course, is finding the match between your talents and your role.†A manager should know how to blend the talents and personalities of his team. Mastering such combinations will result in excellent performance of the whole team. Styles of Managing Interpersonal Conflict (Ruble & Thomas 1976) First, break all the rules: What the world's greatest managers do differently. (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999) Strategies and techniques for self-development Reflective Thinking From my youth, I have come to value self-introspection. I always analyze the things I have done, have said and have felt and thought to be lessons for me to learn fro m. This greatly helps me in my next moves. Most of the time when I do reflect on my actions, I come up with the right outcomes. As for my weaknesses, I need to keep reflecting on my performance to know where I need improvement on. My self-evaluation will help me identify these weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I know I am continuously evolving, and self-actualization is my goal. I need to be able to encourage my team members to likewise be more reflective in their tasks as this leads to good planning and foresight necessary in accomplishing goals successfully. Reflective Practice (Schon 1983) Stages of Reflection (Moon 1999) Learning Cycle (Kolb 1984) Personal leadership approaches Empowerment I am known to be an encourager and people have told me I have the ability to bring out the best in them. This may be due to the positive disposition I have that I mostly focus on the goodness and the potentials of people instead of their flaws. I, myself would want to be led by someone who inspires me to be better and not to settle for mediocrity. I believe that a manager should be an enabler. He sees the potentials of the people under him and harnesses their strengths. People may manifest varying degrees of greatness. The manager sees
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